I am considering a BB for my next phone purchase. I am also switching carriers. Currently I am with Verizon using a Treo 600. I have not been overly thrilled with the phone. Reception has been poor (mostly due to Verizon) and the phone is just big and bulky to use and carry around. It also has no Bluetooth support which really makes it cumbersome when taking calls. I feel like I have a huge brick up next to my face.

I am considering the BB 7105t with TMobile. Coverage for TMobile is excellent in my area. The reason I think I may choose a BB over a traditional cell phone are as follows:

1. I want to have my contact address book (currently in Outlook 2003) with me at all times. I have contacts with multiple fields (i.e. Home, Work, Email, Fax, etc).

2. I keep a lot of work and personal information in my "Notes" section of Outlook which I need with me on the road and at work/home.

3. My Calendar and ToDo List are very critical to have with me. I like to set and receive "alarms" to remind me of appointments or tasks. I need this functionality from both the BB and Outlook.

4. Having immediate access to email would be nice. I currently have 3 IMAP accounts and 2 POP accounts that I receive email from.

My Questions:

1. Will a BB sync my Contacts, Calendar, ToDO, and Notes automatically and without hassle? Does it do this via Bluetooth, or via the push technology, or via sync cable?

2. Is integration with Outlook 2003 seamless? Meaning...do fields and their values come across the same after syncing? I really do not have time to dork around with clutter from a poor synchronization process. I want it to work well with minimal user intervention or troubleshooting.

3. Will the BB work with IMAP and POP accounts? If so, is it required for me to leave my Outlook 2003 client open at home in order to receive the pushed email? How exactly does the BB push work with a desktop email client? Does the BB login to the POP/IMAP accounts directly to retrieve mail or does it get the push from the desktop? Are Contacts, Notes, etc. pushed in the same way?

5. How is email that has been read, forwarded, replied-to, etc. updated? In other words if I reply to an email on my BB will I still see that email as unread on the desktop client when I get home? In other words, is there convergence between the BB and the desktop as to what has been accomplished during the day?

It depends ;) If you are on a BES the sync can be or is wireless, if you are on a BIS then it is not. From your description, I think you are not talking about a corporate BB setup, just an individual user, so I will answer the questions based on that assumption:

1) There are actually 3 platforms, webclient, Desktop Manager/Outlook and BB. The webclient is provided through your provider (Tmobile) in your case, you can read and send your emails from here from any PC with a browser. You sync up the BB to your Outlook with a USB cable and Desktop Manager product. It takes a few seconds and has many options to determine how to handle conflicts. You also can choice to sync all the Contacts, Calendar, ToDO, and Notes or setup only some.

2) There is a mapping that you can do, if you want, but it is pretty seamless and straight forward. Something you would set up once and leave alone.

3) I don't know what a IMAP account is, sorry;) But it will work with POP3 accounts, up to 10 or so depending on provider. You don't leave your PC at home on (unless you are running your own mail server;) I have my POP3 mail forward a copy of email to my BB account. This takes about 5-10 seconds, otherwise if you set up the mail to be pushed in the webclient, that happens every 15 minutes and may delay your mail. Contacts/Notes/ etc are only synced when you sync them via the USB.

4) What does a football coach know about numbers ;)

5) With a BIS setup, you get the mail twice, once on the BB and once at home, so the answer to your question is Yes. There may be ways to change that, but for me it works. I generally just use the BB for getting email fast during the day, and then file them at night.

Btw, you may also want to look at your choice of BB, the one you mention (7105t) uses Suretype (doesn't have a complete keyboard) but is more phone-ish. I prefer the 72xx series or now I have an 8700, which is more BB like and full keyboard. I think you should choice based on usage. Are you looking for a phone that has BB support or a BB that can be used as a phone?

Suretype works great. It takes about an hour to go through the tutorial and then practice with it and then about a week to really get used to it. It's worth the extra few moments proof reading for the 1-2 errors per email, usually, to not have a laptop next to my ear during phone calls.

If you are lookinfg for the 7105t i just got it with T-mobile service br carefull that when you go to the Tmobile store they will want to charge you 299.00 plus tax when you can get this unit for almost free with T-mobile service

I just ended paying 119.00 over the web and it came with a 100.00 rebate plus a free blue tooth

Feel free to hit me up if you need the address to get it . I dont know the protocals for advertising businesses in this forum

Could someone please explain in more detail about how email delivery works? I have not yet seen any good, detailed, technical explanations on the delivery and/or inbox synchronization process.

Are the Calendaring, ToDo List, Contacts, and Notes similar to Outlook in appearance on the handheld? Are there limitations to the fields from Outlook 2003 that are synced to the phone (e.g. only two phone numbers are synced, no fax number, or that sort of thing?).

I just got my 7105t with tmobile service and everything is great!!! The screen is bright and easily the best screen Ive ever seen on any phone. It does everything as advertised!! I have no problems with call quality and the web is even kinda fast considering tmobiles network. The only thing is you MUST harge the battery every day or you'll wake up to a battery with 10% charge. This phone is awesome. Its a phone first and a blackberry second, which is exactly what I needed. The only thing they could have done better is put a camera in it. I knew it didnt have a camera so Iam not bothered. I give it a 10/10 A+
-Mr. Nice Guy
7105t - Chicago Tmobilehttp://illnoise.blogspot.com

When you have a scheduled event in your calendar you get a pop up and mine vibrates but that may be controlled under options. I don't use notes and todo, so you are going to have to find someone else with that gameplan ;)

Here is what is listed in a address book entry on my 8700c:

Title
First Name
Last Name
Email
Company
Job Title
WorK #
Work #2
Home #
Home #2
Mobile#
Pager
Fax
Other
PIN
Work & Home Addresses that include:
add Ln 1&2
city. st. zip country
Category
Webpage
User 1, 2, 3 & 4
Notes

Petrone - Not sure why you posted here on this subject, but in regards to your battery, you might want to search on battery issues. Mine last 4 days or so. You are suppose to allow it to drain completely the first 3 or 4 charges and then charge at will.

To get a visual why not visit a store and look though the BB. The local verizon store here had a BB sitting out that I was able to play with, make phone calls, send test emails. You can look at the calendar, contacts, display settings etc..., to see if you like the interface.

Shad

Quote:

Originally Posted by footballcoach

A few more questions if anyone would care to answer:

Could someone please explain in more detail about how email delivery works? I have not yet seen any good, detailed, technical explanations on the delivery and/or inbox synchronization process.

Are the Calendaring, ToDo List, Contacts, and Notes similar to Outlook in appearance on the handheld? Are there limitations to the fields from Outlook 2003 that are synced to the phone (e.g. only two phone numbers are synced, no fax number, or that sort of thing?).

Your calender will sync thru USB, unless you get on a hosted exchange aka BES with either your company or individual. And individual account runs about $20 a month (check the sponsers area). As far as email it basically goes into an online inbox and then is pushed to your handheld, however it is a 15 poll period, so I suggest you just forward your email to your bb, you will get an email address for your bb upon sign up.

pink

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